The Wedding at Cana - A Different Take
by Commander Cody CC-2224
Summary: Anyone who has been schooled in the Bible at a basic level would know about the wedding feast at Cana, and how Jesus performed His first public miracle during that event by changing water into wine. But could all this have really happened that way? Read on as you come to discover another side of this Bible story that you never may have even considered.


_**The Wedding at Cana**_

**By **_**Commander Cody (CC-2224)**_

**SUMMARY:** Anyone who has been schooled in the Bible at a basic level would know about the wedding feast at Cana, and how Jesus performed His first public miracle during that event by changing water into wine. But could all this have really happened that way? Read on as you come to discover another side of this Bible story that you never may have even considered.

**BRIEF NOTES:** I was listening to a homily on the wedding feast of Cana, and I had this outrageous idea of writing a fanfic based on that event, one with a possible twist.

* * *

A bride and groom had already been wedded together by a Jewish Rabbi. After the ceremonies were dispensed with, it was not long before the joy shared between the bride and groom was shared among the many guests.

And it was this feast that Jesus and His disciples were participating in. The disciples, for the most part, seemed to be content in enjoying themselves during this joyous feast.

Alongside His left was His mother, Mary. As Jesus sipped some goodly wine from a plain wooden cup, Mary, while holding hers, was observing the ceremonies rather astutely. She kept watching, expecting nothing else to happen during the festivities.

But something was happening; and it was bound to not go well with everyone else during the feast.

From what she can tell, there was something not right, from her point of view. Facing to her right was one of the wedding guests, a bearded man, demanding an additional cup of wine, holding out his wooden cup in a desperate manner. A young waiter, struggling to attend to the man, could only shake his head, saying, "But I'll see if I can fetch more."

Mary was thinking that perhaps this was mere coincidence; that just out of random someone was out of his cup of wine. But two other people were requesting more wine, and another waiter could not meet their requests. Whether this could possibly be a coincidence or not, it was cause for alarm for her.

She leaned closer to her son. "Son," she whispered in a discreet manner.

Stirred, Jesus looked up from his wine cup. "Hmm?" he asked His mother rather casually.

"There is a lingering concern that I cannot ignore," said Mary.

"Speak plainly, woman," said Jesus.

"The feast is not over," said Mary. "And there is no more wine.

Jesus looked at his mother with a surprised face. "What?" he retorted, almost loudly.

"There is no more wine," Mary replied simply.

"That can't be," said Jesus, looking a mite crossed. "I don't believe our hosts can be this inept with their wedding preparations."

"I've been observing one man asking for a cup, and a waiter can't meet that request," Mary added. "And that issue is compounded by another man asking for a cup, and he can't have it."

"Then it appears that they're running of wine, but not out of it entirely," Jesus replied, trying to be more specific about the situation at hand.

"You get the point," said Mary. "Soon…there will be no wine left."

"Well…that's embarrassing," Jesus remarked.

"Obviously," said Mary. "Something has to be done."

Jesus heaved a sigh. "Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come." He faced the crowd, thinking over what Mary could do to solve the situation at hand. "Besides…" He continued, "Theman in charge of the wedding feast…the head waiter…has that job. You can bring your concern to him, and I'm sure he can requisition an additional supply of wine for the feast."

Mary thought about what Jesus told her. But in her mind, something was telling her that it would not be enough.

"I'm afraid it won't be enough," Mary said bluntly to her Son.

Jesus shot a glance back at his mother. "What do you mean…it won't be enough?" he inquired her.

"The issue will take too long to resolve," Mary answered her Son. "The head waiter, if he has any skepticism, will likely hinder any progress on bringing fresh wine to the feast. And if anyone happens to hear us discussing the matter, we might cause a stir in the room. But even if that didn't happen, there's still the same threat that looms large over the newlyweds: namely, that rumors will spread about them being terrible hosts to their wedding guests."

"Now, look," Jesus began protesting to His mother. "It was the head waiter who was supposed to see to it that there was enough wine to last the entire feast. Now _I'm_ supposed to take care of _that_ problem?"

"If necessary," said Mary, exasperated over her Son being sort of difficult on her. "Anything would be better than just waiting for the unpleasantly inevitable to happen to the bride and groom."

"What, you think I can conjure wine from thin air?" Jesus shot back at her quietly. "I'm no magician!"

"You're the Son of God!" Mary exclaimed to her Son quietly, trying so hard not to make a scene of herself. "Think of something!"

Jesus snorted in frustration. "Fine…" he conceded with His mother.

Mary then turned to the young waiter who previously tried to serve one of the guests his wine. Quietly she summoned him. The young man went over to her, thinking that he had another guest to serve.

"I'm sorry, but it appears…that we have no more wine left," the young waiter said to her.

"My thoughts exactly," Mary replied. "But my Son will come up with a solution to this problem. So see to it that you do whatever he tells you."

"As you wish," he said to her. He then turned to Jesus, who at this point, seemed to have what he thought would be some sort of way to solve the wine shortage. Almost a second later, Jesus made a hand gesture indicating that he was being summoned up close.

"I want you to fill the water jars with water," Jesus immediately told him. The young man was stunned, as if this was a rather unexpected thing for Jesus to say to him.

But before he could even cogitate what this strange man had just said to him, he was summoned again. He leaned closer.

"Also…" the young waiter leaned closer to whisper into the young man's ear. "I also want you to…"

Jesus continued whispering to the young waiter. The waiter then nodded his head in acknowledgment as he proceeded to carry out whatever Jesus had just requested of him.

"And now…we wait," said Jesus.

"For what?" Mary inquired rather curiously to her Son.

"For the solution…to your concerns," Jesus finished.

* * *

**Thirty minutes later…**

The young servant, with a cup in hand, began drawing out wine from the stone jug. When the cup was filled to the brim, he began to give the cup to the head waiter, who happened to be nearby.

"Mmm…this is good wine!" the head waiter said to him, pleased by the good quality of the wine itself. "The finest I've ever encountered! I shall inform the bride and groom. They will be most pleased."

Without another word the head waiter made his way out of the back room and into the area where the bride and groom were at table. He even had the audacity to pat the groom on the back, in order to get his attention. The groom, having had his attention gotten, began facing the head waiter, wondering what was going on.

"You know, everyone serves the good wine first, and then when people have drunk freely, an inferior one gets served," the head waiter said to the groom. "But you have kept the good wine until now."

"Why, thank you, sir," said the groom, feeling quite flattered. "I…I never had expected such an encouraging opinion."

"Indeed, thank you," the bride conceded as well, feeling flattered as well by the words of the head waiter. "I shall never forget your encouraging words."

"We never had wine of such good quality at a time like this during the feast," said the head waiter. "Enjoy, my friends."

* * *

**Epilogue…**

The Head Waiter made his departure from the dining area to the back room. Some of his waiters were drawing out what appeared to be a new supply of wine.

"Did someone request a fresh supply of wine?" the head waiter inquired to his inferiors under him.

The young waiter pointed to the back door. Following the direction of where the young waiter was pointing, the Head Waiter immediately made his heading to that particular direction.

But something caught him by surprise. In front of him was a wooden cart drawn by a lone mule. Nearby the cart were six stone jars with a carrying capacity of twenty to thirty gallons of wine. The jars had been unloaded from the cart itself. How could that every be possible?

Utterly astonished, the Head Waiter began looking around; that is, until he caught sight of a cart driver.

"Is…is this where the wine came from?" the Head Waiter inquired the driver while still in his astonished state of mind.

"Apparently, a delivery was requested to this place," the cart driver answered him.

The head waiter began examining the delivery up closely. He even touched some of the jars, to make sure that this was not all a delusion. He then counted the stone jars beside the cart.

"Six jars…enough to last the entire feast!" exclaimed the Head Waiter. "How…however did you anticipate such a need as this?"

"I didn't," replied the cart driver. "But it appears you did."

"Wait…that's not possible," said the Head Waiter. "How could…but…"

The cart driver fetched a clay tablet from his seat, along with a writing stylus for pointing.

"As I recall, a young man came to my master's wine shop and requested a delivery of my finest wine," said the cart driver. "I think he was part of your group of waiters, since he said to me that this fresh supply of wine for a wedding feast was ordered…on behalf of _you_."

"But…I could not have made such an order," the Head Waiter said to him, unable to even think that something like that could have happened normally.

"If this is such a concern…would you like a refund and I take this delivery back to my master's shop?" the cart driver asked the head waiter.

"No, no, not at all," answered the Head Waiter. "I'll assume responsibility for the delivery. And gladly. I never knew that we were almost out of wine."

"Well, then, perhaps you would consider taking a more thorough physical count of your inventory next time," the cart driver advised him.

"I shall," said the Head Waiter, intent on considering the advice that the cart driver gave to him. "Good day, sir."

"Good day," said the cart driver.

The Head Waiter ambled his way back to the house as the mule-drawn cart departed the house. The thought of how the fresh supply of wine came not just to the house, but on time, especially since they were nearly running out of it, was still bothering his mind. It was as if he had been given a complex riddle, and his mind was still reeling on how to solve it.

"So if it wasn't I who ordered this fresh supply of wine…then…who?" the head waiter asked himself.

**THE END**

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Love it? Reviews are welcome, but at the very least, have the courtesy to read this fanfic before reviewing.


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